


On Your Side

by kabbyqueen



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-15 23:02:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16073195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kabbyqueen/pseuds/kabbyqueen
Summary: When human rights activist, Regina Mills, visits Vietnam for the first time, she gets herself into trouble when attempting to fight for the rights of a Northern ethnic group.





	On Your Side

**It started as a vacation.**

World-renown human rights activist and journalist, Regina Mills, visited Vietnam to begin a three-month adventure in Southeast Asia. It was her dream to visit the picturesque mountains, enjoy the beaches, meet the people who she’d been told were the friendliest on Earth, and eat the amazing street food. There was a bowl of Bún Chả with her name on it in Vietnam’s capital city, Hanoi.

She had been warned many times to be careful. Because of her profession, she could be watched – that there were people whose job it was to track her every movement and report back to the repressive communist government. She’d been told to stay away from all political protests and to abandon her blog for the weeks she was in the country. And, at first, she listened. She even sent a message to her followers to alert them of her break, asking them to follow her adventure on Instagram. She was ready to play it safe.

That changed, however, on what was meant to be a short trip to Lào Cai province in the north of Vietnam to hike through the mountains and take a three-day motorbike tour with a local group. The first day began as she imagined, the rice fields took her breath away, the mountains captivated her, and the food… oh the food indescribable.  

On the second day, she met a local woman at her homestay who was part of the Giay ethnic group who could only speak a few words of English. With the help of a local translator, the young girl had told her she had been kidnapped and forced into marriage only days before and needed her help. Regina listened to her story with tears in her eyes – she had been walking to the local market to sell vegetables when a man on his motorbike stopped in front her had grabbed her. Everyone only watched as she screamed for help. Even her family told her this is what was best for her. She was told to stop being selfish as this new family would take care of her. This young girl, however, had bigger dreams. She spent her days dreaming of moving to the city, getting an education, falling in love and finding her passion in life – just like those women in the American movies she watched on her 13” TV.

This young girl, Huong, shared other stories of women who had been kidnapped into marriage in different ethnic groups in Northern Vietnam. It was a traditional practice that was accepted by the community.

Regina, who was angered by the plight of these women, began to write their stories. Huong introduced her to more women and after staying three weeks travelling the province, Regina had heard stories from women of all ages who were in marriages they didn’t consent to. The more she heard, the angrier she became. Why was no one fighting for these women? Where was the government? How were these men not arrested? Was she supposed to accept this as a cultural practise or was this a gross human rights violation that the world needed to know about?

Regina took one of the biggest risks of her career and wrote about it. She shared video footage that had been sent to her, she made a plea with the world to take notice and she helped Huong escape from her village and took her back to Hanoi with her.

After 24 hours, her blog received over 1,000,000 views and was shared thousands of times on Twitter and Facebook. She felt proud of herself that she was fighting for these girls and that the world was taking notice.

And then her worst fears began to come into fruition.

She would leave her hotel and walk the busy streets of Hanoi’s old quarter with the feeling that she was being watched.  This continued to happen for a couple of days. Regina hoped that this feeling was all in her imagination until one day, as she was walking through the botanical gardens, she saw a group of men on motorbikes staring at her. As she looked back, she saw them start rev their engines and drive towards towards her. In a moment of complete fear, Regina began to run towards one of the park’s openings when she felt someone grab her arm and pull her on his motorbike.

Just as Regina was ready to protest, she noticed that the man who had taken her wasn’t part of the group who had been targeting her or even Vietnamese. Who was he? Should she trust him? There wasn’t much she could do as he expertly navigated the busy and chaotic streets of Hanoi honking his horn, narrowly avoiding buses, and passing traffic at a high speed. After nearly 20 minutes, he turned into an alley and stopped the bike in front of a tall golden gate.

“Who are you?!” Regina screeched as she got off of his bike.

The man quickly shushed her to quiet her voice as he opened the gate and lead her into what she thought may be his home. As he closed the gates, he looked around to ensure that no one was around and closed the large green door behind them.

The home was fairly empty – only a couch and a small kitchen in the corner. It looked lived in but didn’t appear very personal with no photos or decorations.

“You really know how to get yourself into trouble, don’t you?” he finally spoke with a thick British accent, “You Americans are all the same – you never think about the consequences of your actions.”

“Excuse me?! Who do you think you are?!”

“Who I am is the man who just saved your life…” he began as she rolled her eyes. After a few seconds, he muttered “... a simple thank you would suffice.”

“I am not going to thank you until you tell me who you are,” she countered as her tone grew even angrier.

The man signed as he looked at her, taking in her beauty for the first time. His tone softened, “The name is Robin of Locksley. I work with MI6 and I'm here gathering intelligence on the government when I saw your name come up many times. Seems you have really angered quite a few people with the stories you shared.”

Regina looked at him for almost a minute, realizing just how handsome he was. She paused as she stared into his eyes, trying to determine whether he was telling her the truth. He seemed genuine.

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” she asked. He looked at her again and then pulled out his wallet to show her is ID.

“Because I’m the only person here on your side right now,” he resonded, “And the only person who is willing to help you get out of Vietnam safely”.

“What do you mean? I am planning on flying back home tomorrow.”

“You can’t,” he warned. “Not only are there people from the Giay ethnic group looking for you, but the government is tracking your passport. They are planning to arrest you when you get to the airport. And if that happens, not even your government will be able to help you.”

“So, what am I supposed to do? Stay here? With _you?”_ she asked in disgust.

He looked at her while grabbing his gun and a large green bag, “No, what we’re going to do is get you out of this country.”

“And how are we going to do that?” she asked, her entire body filling with dread and fear.

 He put his hand on her shoulder while taking a helmet and face mask from his bag.

 She looked at his hand on her shoulder and then at the helmet he was offering her, “You have got to be kidding me.”

 “Not a joke, I assure you milady,” he began. “Put this on – we don’t have much time before we are found.”

 She looked straight into his eyes, getting closer to him, “Why are you doing this?”

 He grabbed his gun while inching even closer, his hand still on her shoulder, “Because I’m a fan of your work, Regina Mills.”

She was taken aback. Was he trying to charm her? _Now?!_ She held his gaze for a moment and then sighed while placing the helmet on her head. His eyes softened when he saw the fear in her eyes she was attempting to hide.

“Are you ready for a new adventure?” He asked trying to lighten her mood while opening the door and placing the green bag on his bike.

Regina put on the face mask as she followed him. When seated on his motorbike, she put her arms around his stomach and rested her head on his shoulder for a short moment while feeling overwhelmed by what was happening. Could she trust him? At this point, did she really have a choice?

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she responded as he revved the engine and began to drive through the narrow alley.

And what followed were weeks of adventure, sleepless nights, meeting families who would protect them, being chased by local officials, a few close calls and perhaps even… love?

-the end?-


End file.
